Tuesday, February 06, 2007
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Amazon has turned on the Search Inside feature for the Wine Making Journal. Follow the link and check it out.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
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Just received some new praise for the wine making journal. Thanks for the support Jody!
Worth every penny! (Jody Bantz)
I was hesistant at first when thinking about ordering this journal. I mean, why pay money for a journal to record my wine batches. But after getting it and starting to use it, I'd never go back to the old way. Using the journal has made tracking my batches and even making my wine batches alot easier. All my batches and all my notes are all in one convienent spot now. I would recommend this journal to every home wine maker.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Homemade Wine Maker Publishes The Wine Making Journal
Green Bay, WI December 20, 2006
Adam Courtney, a local Green Bay man, has published the “Wine Making Journal, for the homemade wine maker”. Adam searched for a wine making journal to record all of his homemade wine batches. Being unable to find one, he decided to make his own. Using a print on demand publisher, Adam was able to produce the book quickly and easily.
Most home winemakers struggle with organization, the Wine Making Journal solves that problem, simplifying the process even further.
Adam says, “I’m very excited to share this journal with other winemaker’s. In the past I struggled with keeping my wine making notes and logs organized and in one place. After developing this journal, it’s made my wine making organized and simple.”
Adam has seen a surge of new homemade wine maker’s in the last five years, many friends have ask him for help in learning how to make their own wine. And the local home brewing store (House of Homebrew) has seen a steady increase in business and customers.
The journal has sections for recording each stage of the wine making process. This includes sections for the primary fermentation, the secondary fermentation, bottling and tasting. The homemade wine maker can record up to 50 batches of wine (usually amounting to over one thousand bottles). There are also sections to record their favorite recipes and notes. It even has space to save each label that the wine maker produces.
Adam has been making homemade wine for the last decade. He has made wine from fresh fruit, wine kits, and even frozen concentrate. His blog and info on the ‘Wine Making Journal’ can be found at winemakingjournal.com.
Contact Info:
Adam T. Courtney
173 Vande Hei Road
Green Bay WI 54301
920.366.3343
adamcourtney@itol.com
WineMakingJournal.com
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Wednesday, December 06, 2006
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The Wine Making Journal is an easy to use journal to record all of your homemade wine batches.
The journal has sections for recording
- the primary fermentation
- the secondary fermentation
- bottling
- and tasting of each batch
There is also a space to attach your label for posterity. The Wine Making Journal has handy reference charts included to help make your wine production easier and quicker. For less than the cost of yeast, you can keep track of 50 of your wine batches in one convenient location. No longer do you need to keep track of countless loose pages of notes, or a notebook full of scribbled hieroglyphics. A definite must have for the home wine maker.
A great gift for the wine maker in your life
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
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Picking out the fruit and deciding on a recipe is only the beginning.
Homemade wine making is a wonderful experience. Picking out the fruit and deciding on a recipe is only the beginning. Cleaning and cutting up the fruit can be tedious at times, but I get a surreal feeling as I go through the fruit. Selecting only the best specimens and discarding the bruised and battered pieces. Then comes preparing the must for the primary. Measuring the fruit, doing this I never use a scale or measuring cup. I just make sure I come close to the recipe I've decided on.
If I used my feet none of my friends would drink it.
With some recipes I get to sanitize my hands and smash the fruit to smithereens. If I used my feet none of my friends would drink it. Getting your hands dirty is a blast, and makes it more of "hands-on" experience. Carefully measuring the chemicals, sugar, and water makes it feel like you are preparing your next masterpiece. You start to imagine how the wine is going to turn out, picturing the final color in your mind, relishing how the body will turn out, and already starting to design a label in your head.
There are many breweries with free tours and of course Free Beer!
The anticipation while your at work the next day is always exciting. When you finally arrive home you rush over to the primary bucket and check for the tell tale signs of an active fermentation. You see the bubbles and do a little happy fermentation dance. Next I always put my nose up close and smell the yeast working. It reminds me of driving through Milwaukee. For you beer lovers out there a trip to Milwaukee is a must (pun intended). There are many breweries with free tours and of course Free Beer!
Sometimes I ease the pain of waiting by printing the labels.
Each day as you punch down the must your excitement grows. Your next little baby is taking shape. As you move into the secondary stage you start to feel like a protector, making sure the bung is nice and tight and the air lock is set. Gotta protect the wine from all that pesky oxygen. Once the batch has been racked a few times and we get to the aging process, patience is the key. I go a little crazy during this stage. Every few days I go and peek at it. I check the color and make sure nothing weird has happened, or started to grow in there. Sometimes I ease the pain of waiting by printing the labels. I also make sure I have enough bottles and corks ready to go.
As the corked bottles start to pile up, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment.
Then finally the day of bottling comes. I usually invite someone over to help. Having a friend over for this can double the excitement. They can also help to determine the amount of sweetening the batch needs. Once we get the sweetening worked out, we pull off a bottle (or two) for us to enjoy during the bottling. As the corked bottles start to pile up, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. I start to think how my loyal fans are going to like this latest batch. After the entire batch is bottled and labeled, I like to sit and look at all the bottles as I reflect on the joy I had in creating them. Then I uncork another one and start thinking about what I'm going to make next
If you've never made homemade wine before, I highly recommend starting. It's not as difficult as it may seem and I promise you'll love it when that first batch is done.
Great article on two guys in london who decided to make their own wine.
"Ideas that you come up with in the pub usually stay right there. There is a reason for this but, just this once, the idea of buying a couple of tons of grapes stuck."
Read the whole story
The Wine Making Journal is an easy to use journal to record all of your homemade wine batches.
The journal has sections for recording
- the primary fermentation
- the secondary fermentation
- bottling
- and tasting of each batch
There is also a space to attach your label for posterity. The Wine Making Journal has handy reference charts included to help make your wine production easier and quicker. For less than the cost of yeast, you can keep track of 50 of your wine batches in one convenient location. No longer do you need to keep track of countless loose pages of notes, or a notebook full of scribbled hieroglyphics. A definite must have for the home wine maker.
A great gift for the wine maker in your life
Here's a simple diagram of how to make home made wine.
Please share your funny or helpfull home made wine making stories.
They can be funny, embarrassing or helpful.
Simply add them to the comments, and check back to read everyone elses.
The most common way to stabilize a batch of wine is to add the following ingredients per gallon:
- 1/2 tsp Potassium Sorbate
- 1 Crushed Campden Tablet
I've been using this formula since the begining. However, I did have one batch start to referment after sweeting and bottling. Any ideas why, or how to improve on this process, please add it to the comments.